(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a cleaning apparatus that is comprised of an elongate handle and a cleaning head at one end of the handle. The cleaning head is comprised of a pair of panels that can be moved relative to each other. The pair of panels support a micro fiber cleaning pad. The cleaning pad can be released from the panels after use without manually touching the pad, thereby enabling disposal of a contaminated cleaning pad while reducing the potential for cross contamination to a user of the apparatus.
(2) Description of the Related Art
It has been a recent trend in the design of apparatus that are used in cleaning surfaces such as floors and walls to employ micro fiber cleaning pads. For example, current designs of floor mops include a mop head having a micro fiber cleaning pad removably attached to the mop head, whereby the pad can be disposed of or laundered after use.
In order that the cleaning pad be easily removable from the mop head, the mop head is typically designed with clips or other similar types of features. The features removably hold the cleaning pad to the mop head without requiring separate fasteners on the mop head, and without requiring the use of tools in attaching and removing the micro fiber cleaning pad from the mop head.
However, although tools or separate fasteners are not required to attach the micro fiber cleaning pad to the mop head, it is still necessary that the cleaning pad be manually handled when removing the pad from the mop head. Where the micro fiber cleaning pad has been used to clean surfaces of materials that could be hazardous to touch, or where the used cleaning pad is simply undesirable to touch, the task of removing the used cleaning pad from the mop head is, in the least, particularly undesirable, and could be hazardous to the person performing the cleaning task.
What is needed to overcome this disadvantage associated with apparatus that employ micro fiber cleaning pads and other similar types of cleaning pads is a way of removing the used cleaning pad from the apparatus without requiring the manual handling of the used cleaning pad.